


Shipping Up To Boston

by TellMeAMarvelousStory



Series: Shipping Up To Boston [1]
Category: Chris Evans - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Leaving Home, Shipping up to Boston
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TellMeAMarvelousStory/pseuds/TellMeAMarvelousStory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is probably not a typical work you're used to seeing.  These two characters, particularly Mansi, have been speaking to me for a while, and I had to get her story out.  Her story with Chris won't be chronological, and might not make too much sense at times as a result.  I'm just listening to what they're telling me.  I hope you get some enjoyment out of it :)</p><p>This is the first "installment", though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shipping Up To Boston

This was not a flight she was necessarily looking forward to. Everything she’d worked for over the last couple years was at the end of it, sure…but that didn’t make it any easier. 

 The pleasant voice brought Mansi out of her trance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to welcome you aboard Flight 251 with service to Boston Logan International, those passengers with seating in row A through J.  Again, rows A through J can now begin boarding.”

The slight southern lilt made her heart ache.  Mansi knew it might be the last time in who-knew-how-long she would hear the soft tones she’d grown up with.  She stood and gathered her carry-on bag, pulling her boarding pass up on her phone’s screen.  As she got closer to the front of the line, she looked out the window to her right.  

The Charlotte skyline wasn’t quite visible in the distance.  The Bank of America building and the Hearst Tower were barely distinguishable, but Mansi had grown up in the shadows of those piles of brick and stone.  Her junior prom was held at Hearst.

Leaving home was something she never thought she’d actually do, just talk about.  But she couldn’t say no to this opportunity.  Mansi wanted to be a nurse since she could remember.  Her grandmother was a nurse, and she would always beg her to tell her stories of what she did that week at work.  It made her want to do anything to be like her grandmother.  

It came so quick- the burning in the back of her eyes, the trembling in her hands as the woman scanned her boarding pass.  She became acutely aware she was alone.  But not just  _alone._ Solitary.  She was the only one in the line that wasn’t with someone. It made her ache even worse.  How could she do this?  How could she have imagined she would be capable of making a leap like she was about to make?  

At this point, it didn’t matter.  It was too late to stop now.  Her feet carried her down the gangway and into her seat in first class.  _At least this part would be worth it_ , she thought.  As part of her going away present, the anesthesiologists she worked for paid for her ticket to Boston.  They all lauded her and told her how proud they were.  

She stuffed her bag into the bin above her head, saving her iPad for the journey.  The seat next to hers was still empty.

Mansi didn’t even notice her eyes beginning to burn again.  It was an all too familiar feeling she’d grown accustomed to over the last 48 hours.  To try and stop the tears in front of a plane full of people still boarding, she pulled out her phone.  No real reason to, just anything to distract her.  She scrolled through her text messages and found the one she wanted to read one more time.  It was from her sister, Amber.

_“You’re gonna be wicked awesome, this is so wicked exciting!  You’re_ _gonna be wicked cold, just make sure you get a_ _wicked warm jacket for BAAHHHHHHSTAAHHHNNNNN.”_

_“Say wicked one more time, dork.”_

_“WICKEDWICKEDWICKED_.  _SO WICKED.”_

_“When you come to visit, do me a favor?_ _Never talk like that.”_

_“Hahaha, deal.  Even though it’s the end of an era._ _Love you sis, you’re gonna be amazing.”_

Below her last text was a picture Amber attached.  The screenshot from Friends was perfect.  

_“I love you too.  Christmas isn’t so far away, I’ll be home soon.”_

As Mansi finished reading the message one last time before takeoff, she realized the neighboring seat would no longer be empty.  Oh well.  At least it was a short flight.  And as she took in her seatmate putting his bag away, Mansi was suddenly not so disappointed to share the armrest.  From the size of his arms though, he would need most of it.  Mansi wiped the tears away and took a deep breath.  She really didn’t want to spend the next two hours being the crying girl on the plane.   

Being careful not to openly ogle the guy next to her, Mansi cut her eyes carefully to the side.  Still struggling to find space, his thick arms were lifted high, which revealed a sliver of his very toned abs.  His hips were ridiculously slim, and she wondered how his shoulders even fit through the small airplane door.  She hoped he was heading  _home_ to Boston and not just visiting.   

It wasn’t like she had anything else to do for the next two hours.  She might as well try to make a friend if he was a local.   

His face emerged as he closed the compartment, and Mansi  _really_ hoped he was a Bostonian.  Then he opened his mouth.  She was not let down.

 “Hey, how you doing?”

His accent made it clear he was no Charlottean.  The deep gravel came from low in his chest and was accompanied by a small crooked smile.  He wore a beard like it was his job, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the freckle in the middle of his left cheek.  His eyes squinted in the bright light coming from the open window, but she could still see how blue they were.  Mansi had never seen a jawline so strong, either.  

Fuck, they sure did grow them different up north.

He took his seat quickly to clear the aisle and his shoulder brushed hers.

 _Damn, he smells good.  What is that?_ Mansi thought.

“Hi,” she said quickly.  Taking one last sniffle, Mansi sat up a little straighter.  The mystery man leaned over her to peek out the open window at the skyline. His cologne drifted into her nostrils again.  It was like olfactory crack, whatever it was.  He leaned back into his own seat again and Mansi settled further into hers. Still battling her own upset, she wondered how she could get herself together to at least talk to the guy stuck next to her for the next two and a half hours.  She didn’t have to think too hard.  He spoke up before she could think about what to even say.

“It is way too hot for me here, I don’t know how you guys do it.”

She let a small laugh sneak out at his comment.

“Us guys?  What do you mean?”

 “You natives.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a great time, but man.  Summers here must be brutal, right?”

“Well…they can be rough.  But that’s what the lake is for.  And besides, there aren’t too many natives left.  Not in Charlotte, anyway.  And besides, how do you even know I  _am_ a Charlotte girl?”

 Mystery Man cracked his crooked grin again.  

 “Well, I wasn’t sure until just now.  But you’re way too tan to be a Boston chick right now, even at the end of summer.  We don’t get that kind of sun up there.  Plus your accent kinda gives you away.”

Mansi’s jaw dropped.  She most certainly did  _not_ have an accent.  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I do not have an accent.  At least not one you could tell from talking to me for 30 seconds.”

She wasn’t entirely offended; she knew she had a drawl sometimes.  But it wasn’t that bad.  Plus she liked it anyway.  He threw up his hands in defense.

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it!  I think it’s kinda cute, even!  I was just saying, it’s definitely not a Boston burr, that’s all.”

Mansi smiled at his defense strategy.   _He thinks it’s cute?_

“Well…since I am a polite Southern woman, I’ll let that one slide this time.”

“Oh, you will?”

“Yeah, just this once.  Bless your l’il heart.”

Her favorite saying sent the mystery man into a laugh.  He threw his head back and Mansi got the most beautiful view she’d seen yet- his profile, his open-mouthed laughter, and damn…she swore for a minute that neck could cure cancer or something.  

“Ohh, ‘bless your little heart’…you Southerners really know how to throw some Grade A Shade, huh?”

Now it was Mansi’s turn to laugh.  And it was a real laugh, from deep inside her belly.  It shook her all the way up to her shoulders as her head tipped forward. It felt good after all her tears shed in the last week to really laugh.  Whoever this guy was, she was damn glad he was seated next to her.

She lifted her head and saw him watching her.  His blue eyes peeked out from under the brim of his Patriots hat. It unnerved her a bit, threw her off. But not as much as what he said next.

“I was hoping there was a smile in there somewhere.”

Mansi opened her mouth to say something, anything.  When no sound came out, Mystery Man took the opening for himself.

“You just looked like you could use something to smile about.  Although, I promise it isn’t that bad in Boston.”

Mansi opened her mouth to explain, having finally found words, but she was cut off by an abrupt voice through the loudspeaker.  

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have been cleared for takeoff, and we ask that you all make your way to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.  When we reach cruising altitude, our flight attendants will be coming by taking drink orders, but we ask that you stay seated until then. Thank you.”

Mansi hadn’t even realized the cabin doors had closed, and the plane was in position for takeoff.  It was becoming more and more real, her leaving.  As the dread began to set in again, she looked to Mystery Man. Desperate not to settle into a crying spell for the fifty-eleventh time, she held her hand out.  

“I’m Mansi.  Hi.”

He took her soft small hand into his huge one.  He squeezed it once before he shook it.

“Mansi?  That’s really pretty.  I’m Chris.”

“Hi.”

Chris.  She had a name for him now, no longer Mystery Man, and she calmed as he smiled at her.

“So what are your plans while you’re in town?”

“I’m not sure yet.  I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t been able to really figure anything out.”

Chris smiled at her.

“Well, we’ve got a couple hours to help you figure it out.  You’re gonna love your time here, I promise.”

As the engines began to roar and she felt the force of takeoff push her body back into her seat, Mansi started getting excited again about her new adventure. And her new friend.

“Yeah…I get the feeling I really will.”


End file.
